Inventions & Innovations

Developed in Israel! Top 12 New Fruit and Vegetables Species

{image_1}By Abigail Klein Leichman, ISRAEL21c

Since the first half of the 20th century, Israeli agricultural wizards have been bringing new fruit and vegetable varieties to the global market, from vividly colored squash to seedless peppers. Every year, Israel exports more than [US] $2 billion worth of produce—tomatoes are its fourth-largest commodity—and is among the world’s top developers of better-looking, better-tasting, disease-resistant, and more nutritious varieties.

Sleep Apnea Could Protect Heart Attack Patients

{image_1}By Viva Sarah Press, israel21c.org

Sufferers of breathing disorders such as sleep apnea are usually thought to be at higher risk for cardiovascular disease. A new study from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology scientists suggests that some heart attack patients with these conditions may actually benefit from mild to moderate sleep-disordered breathing.

Your Secret is Safe

{image_1}By Brian Blum, ISRAEL21c

When your bank outsources customer service to India, how can the financial institution ensure that your data won’t fall into the wrong hands? What if your HMO [Health Maintenance Organization] shares files with an outside pharmaceutical research firm and inadvertently reveals your chronic illness?

Sun’s Power at Work

{image_1}Thousands of years ago, sailors would spread seawater in flat beds aboard ship to let the sun evaporate it to separate out the salt. The same principle is behind a modern Israeli technology that relies on sun power to distill clean water for drinking and agriculture.

Israel—a Nation of Innovators

{image_1}Recently the Dispatch from Jerusalem was invited to a media-only presentation which highlighted several Israeli companies in the field of bio-tech, the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products, and medical devices. Steve Rhodes from The Trendlines Group, a company which invests in and develops new businesses, gave a short introduction, before representatives of the individual companies made their presentations.

A Smarter Inhaler for Asthmatic Kids

{image_1}An Israeli father was so determined to find a better way to deliver his young son’s asthma medication that he started a new company to do it. The result is the Inspiromatic—a device that mechanical engineer Nimrod Kaufmann dreamed up with Dr. Guy Steuer.

Putting a “Nose Plug” on Bugs

{image_1}An Israeli company has developed a natural, non-toxic bug repellent that masks the smell of plants and flowers—and possibly even people. It’s like putting a nose plug on bugs so they can’t smell or detect a potential host. EdenShield is developing the product into a spray coating for greenhouse covers.

Just Think It, and the Computer Will Say It

{image_1}Imagine that you cannot talk. You know what you want to say, but your speaking muscles are paralyzed. Technion researcher Ariel Tankus has spent two years working on a complex brain-machine interface that could give the power of speech to people unable to express themselves.

Creating Pure Water without Chlorine

{image_1}”Clean” isn't always as clean as you think. While the chemicals in cleaning solutions and water purification systems do away with germs, they dirty the environment and aren't healthy for humans. An Israeli company is offering an alternative: an ozone-based cleaning system to purify tap water. The system, says Ittai Weissberg, CEO of Greeneng Solutions, is better at getting rid of germs and is a lot safer than chlorine- and ammonia-based cleaning solutions. And it does the job cheaply.

Introducing the Invisible Keyboard

{image_1}It's always easy to see who chose typing class at high school when watching grownups in the boardroom. Those who didn't learn how to type properly stumble over laptop keyboards with two fingers or thumbs. Today's smart phones have made most of us just as awkward. Our fingers feel like big fat sausages as we aim for the tiny letters. Could there be another way?